Methods and apparatus for affiliate interrupt detection

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for affiliate interrupt detection. An example method disclosed herein includes determining whether a first time period of a first audio signal corresponds to a first affiliate interrupt period based on whether (1) a first type of watermark is detected in the first time period of the first audio signal, and (2) a second type of watermark is detected in the first audio signal outside the first time period but not in the first time period of the first audio signal, and determining whether the first time period of the first audio signal corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period when watermarks are not detected in the first time period of the first audio signal based on comparison of first signatures with second signatures representing a corresponding first time period of a reference audio signal.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/588,970 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,082,730), which was filed on Sep.30, 2019. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/588,970 is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/588,970 is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media monitoring and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus for affiliate interruptdetection.

BACKGROUND

For years, national broadcasters have allocated time for localcommercials to be inserted into programming on local affiliate stationsdisplaying national broadcasts. Some local affiliate broadcastersutilize such local insertion opportunities to display localadvertisements, while others display national advertisements, or displayalternative programming. National broadcasters can alert local affiliatestations to such commercial insertion opportunities and the localaffiliate stations can select a course of action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example environment for implementingexample affiliate interrupt detection techniques disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example affiliate interrupt analyzer todetect affiliate interrupts in accordance with teachings of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the affiliate interruptanalyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to perform affiliate interrupt detection.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the affiliate interruptanalyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine local media interrupts viawatermarks.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the affiliate interruptanalyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine local media interrupts on anaffiliate signal via audio signature comparison between the affiliatesignal and the reference signal.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the affiliate interruptanalyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine local media interrupts onaffiliate signals based on audio signature comparison on affiliatesignals.

FIGS. 7A-7B collectively depict a flowchart representative of examplemachine readable instructions that may be executed to implement theaffiliate interrupt analyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine localmedia interrupts on affiliate signals based on video signaturecomparison.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating an example programming scenario andassociated data to be utilized in accordance with techniques disclosedherein to detect affiliate interrupts.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating an example audio signature comparisonbetween a plurality of audio signals to be utilized to detect affiliateinterrupts using example techniques disclosed herein.

FIG. 10A is a schematic illustrating an example video signaturecomparison between a plurality of media signals to be utilized to detectaffiliate interrupts using example techniques disclosed herein.

FIG. 10B is a difference quantity plot corresponding to the videosignature comparison illustrated in the schematic of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the machine readable instructions of FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and/or7A-7B to implement the example affiliate interrupt analyzer of FIGS. 1and/or 2 .

The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

Descriptors “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. are used herein whenidentifying multiple elements or components which may be referred toseparately. Unless otherwise specified or understood based on theircontext of use, such descriptors are not intended to impute any meaningof priority, physical order or arrangement in a list, or ordering intime but are merely used as labels for referring to multiple elements orcomponents separately for ease of understanding the disclosed examples.In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be used to refer to anelement in the detailed description, while the same element may bereferred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as “second” or“third.” In such instances, it should be understood that suchdescriptors are used merely for ease of referencing multiple elements orcomponents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

National broadcasts are often distributed by a network broadcaster tomultiple affiliate stations (e.g., stations within the same network,etc.) for display. For example, an affiliate station (e.g., a stationthat directly broadcasts to a specific area, group of subscribers, etc.)may display nationally distributed broadcasts in addition to, oralternatively to, local broadcasts. As used herein, affiliate stationsmay also be referred to as local stations, local broadcasters, localaffiliate stations, local affiliate broadcasters, and the like. As usedherein, network broadcasters may be referred to as networks, nationalnetworks, and the like. Further, as used herein, network broadcaster mayalso refer to a broad media distribution entity.

Affiliate stations that present network broadcasts are given theopportunity to insert their own content, such as local advertisements orother local programing, at specific times throughout the networkbroadcast. An example network broadcast may include, for example, atwo-minute local (e.g., associated with a region, area, locality, etc.)interrupt. During a local interrupt (also referred to herein as anaffiliate interrupt, a local affiliate interrupt, and the like), a localaffiliate station inserts content that may be different from the mediasignal provided from the network broadcaster. In such an example, thenetwork broadcast may include network advertisements (e.g., commercials,etc.) produced by the network broadcaster as an option for the localaffiliates to broadcast during the local commercial insertionopportunity. In some examples, the local affiliate station may broadcastlocal advertisements (e.g., advertisements relevant to local businesses,relevant to local current affairs, relevant to sponsors or affiliates ofthe local affiliate station, etc.) during the local commercial insertionopportunity. In some examples, local affiliate stations may interruptbroadcasts in order to present alternative programming (e.g., a localnews alert, an emergency alert, a long-form infomercial, etc.). In somesuch examples, the local affiliate stations may begin such alternativeprogramming at any point in the network broadcast, including at a localinsertion opportunity. As used herein, the term “broadcast” refers toany signal conveying media.

Audience measurement entities (AMEs) desire knowledge on how usersinteract with media devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, smarttelevisions, etc. In particular, AMEs, also referred to as mediamonitoring companies and the like, want to monitor media presentationsmade at the media devices to, among other things, monitor exposure toadvertisements, determine advertisement effectiveness, determine userbehavior, identify purchasing behavior associated with variousdemographics, etc. AMEs may provide information to network broadcastersindicating when local interrupts occurred, to help the networkbroadcasters ensure their programming is being broadcast as expected(e.g., to ensure local affiliate stations are not interrupting thenetwork broadcast at times when they do not have permission to do so).For example, the network may be interested in identifying localinterrupts occurring at unexpected times (e.g., in the middle of a show,spaced apart from a commercial pod, etc.)

AMEs may be able to utilize some existing techniques to identify whenlocal insertion opportunities exist, but these techniques may be unableto provide information as to whether the local affiliate stationactually interrupted the network broadcast during at least some of theseopportunity periods, and/or may be unable to indicate other times(outside of those times when the network broadcaster identifies localinsertion opportunities) when the network broadcast was interrupted. Insome examples, network broadcasters may issue cue tones, which aresignals inserted into the broadcast that are identifiable by localaffiliates. A cue tone may be, for example, a dual-tone multi-frequency(DTMF) tone. In some examples, an AME (e.g., The Nielsen Company (US),LLC) can identify and detect the cue tones in signals to identify localcommercial insertion opportunities. In some examples, the identificationmay be in the form of Society of Cable TelecommunicationEngineers-Standard 35 (SCTE-35) codes. SCTE-35 codes are a digital formof indicator similar to cue tones which are carried in the broadcastingstream, and can be used to indicate local insertion opportunities. AnAME can identify and detect SCTE-35 codes or cue tones in broadcastsignals to identify local commercial insertion opportunities. However,knowledge of these opportunities may not indicate whether a localaffiliate station actually interrupted the network broadcast.

Further, sometimes a network broadcaster may utilize another method,which is difficult or impossible for an AME to detect, to indicate tolocal affiliate stations that a commercial insertion opportunity exists.For example, a network broadcast may transmit a signal included in thenetwork broadcast signal in white space (e.g., unused frequencies, etc.)of the network broadcast signal. In such an example, an AME may havedifficulty detecting, or may not be able to detect, the identificationof the local insertion opportunity, as the AME may not be informed as tothe specific white space utilized to indicate the local insertionopportunity, and/or may not be able to detect the white space signal. Insome examples, network broadcasters may communicate with localaffiliates via an inaccessible method, such as directly contacting theaffiliate stations via email. In such an example, an AME may not haveaccess to such emails or other direct contact communications.

Conventionally, an entity (e.g., an AME) may track local commercialinsertion opportunities by tuning into broadcast signals and attemptingto detect and identify indications of such opportunities (e.g., cuetones, SCTE-35 codes, etc.). However, with numerous types of indicationsbeing developed and utilized, such an approach may vary depending on thespecific affiliate station. Further, identification of the localinsertion opportunities may not indicate (1) whether the networkbroadcast was actually interrupted, and (2) whether the networkbroadcaster was interrupted at times aside from the local insertionopportunities. As a result, it may difficult, if not impossible, for anAME to identify all local interrupts across a range of affiliatestations. Such local interrupt data may be desired for verification oflocal commercial presentations by advertisers, competitor localcommercial analysis by advertisers, and/or for use by any researchentities to add another layer of granularity to media monitoring data,etc.

Example methods, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosedherein for affiliate interrupt detection. In some example methods,systems, and articles of manufacture disclosed herein, affiliateinterrupts are detected via watermarks. In some such examples, thepresence of network watermarks and the presence of local watermarks canbe utilized to determine when affiliate interrupts occurred.

In some example methods, systems, and articles of manufacture disclosedherein, affiliate interrupts are detected via audio signature comparisonbetween an affiliate signal and a reference signal. In some suchexamples, affiliate interrupts are detected when signatures generatedbased on the affiliate signal do not match signatures generated based ona reference signal corresponding to the network broadcaster for aninterrupt duration threshold.

In some example methods, systems, and articles of manufacture disclosedherein, affiliate interrupts are detected via audio signature comparisonbetween a group of affiliate signals. In some such examples, affiliateinterrupts are detected when one or more of the affiliate signals doesnot match a first number of matching affiliate signals in the group andthe number of mismatching affiliate signals during the time periodsatisfies a difference quantity threshold and/or the time periodsatisfies a duration threshold.

In some example methods, systems, and articles of manufacture disclosedherein, affiliate interrupts are detected via video signature comparisonbetween an affiliate signal and a reference signal and/or between agroup of affiliate signals. In some such examples, video signatures canbe generated based on one or more affiliate signals, and in someexamples, video signatures can be generated based on a reference signal(e.g., corresponding to the network broadcaster).

As used herein, the term “media” includes any type of content and/oradvertisement delivered via any type of distribution medium. Thus, mediaincludes television programming or advertisements, radio programming oradvertisements, movies, web sites, streaming media, etc.

Some example techniques disclosed herein utilize audio watermarking.Audio watermarking is a technique used to identify media such astelevision broadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (televisionand/or radio), downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media,etc. Existing audio watermarking techniques identify media by embeddingone or more audio codes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as mediaidentifying information and/or an identifier that may be mapped to mediaidentifying information, into an audio and/or video component. In someexamples, the audio or video component is selected to have a signalcharacteristic sufficient to hide the watermark. As used herein, theterms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeably and are defined tomean any identification information (e.g., an identifier) that may beinserted or embedded in the audio or video of media (e.g., a program oradvertisement) for the purpose of identifying the media or for anotherpurpose such as tuning (e.g., a packet identifying header). As usedherein “media” refers to audio and/or visual (still or moving) contentand/or advertisements. To identify watermarked media, the watermark(s)are extracted and used to access a table of reference watermarks thatare mapped to media identifying information.

Some example techniques disclosed herein utilize signature-based mediamonitoring. Unlike media monitoring techniques based on codes and/orwatermarks included with and/or embedded in the monitored media,fingerprint or signature-based media monitoring techniques generally useone or more inherent characteristics of the monitored media during amonitoring time interval to generate a substantially unique proxy forthe media. Such a proxy is referred to as a signature or fingerprint,and can take any form (e.g., a series of digital values, a waveform,etc.) representative of any aspect(s) of the media signal(s) (e.g., theaudio and/or video signals forming the media presentation beingmonitored). A signature may be a series of signatures collected inseries over a timer interval. A good signature is repeatable whenprocessing the same media presentation, but is unique relative to other(e.g., different) presentations of other (e.g., different) media.Accordingly, the term “fingerprint” and “signature” are usedinterchangeably herein and are defined herein to mean a proxy foridentifying media that is generated from one or more inherentcharacteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlationvalue, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that with matched the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature,these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known andwere first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example environment 100 forimplementing affiliate interrupt detection techniques disclosed herein.The example environment includes an example network broadcaster 102, anexample network signal 104, example affiliate broadcasters 106 a-c,example affiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c, example households 110 a-c,example media monitoring signals 112 a-c, an example audiencemeasurement entity (AME) 114, an example media measurement system (MMS)116, an example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118, and example interruptreport data 120.

The example network broadcaster 102 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1communicates media signals to the affiliate broadcasters 106 a-c fordistribution to a broad audience. In some examples, the networkbroadcaster 102 encodes watermarks (e.g., network codes) into mediasignals to enable subsequent tracking of the media signals as they arepresented. In some examples, the network broadcaster 102 is a mediadistributor that receives media from content creators (e.g., televisionstudios, movie studios, individual content creators, etc.) anddistributes the media to a broader audience. In some examples, the AME114 can directly access the network signal 104, which may be utilized asa reference signal for affiliate interrupt detection. In some examples,the network broadcaster 102 is an internet-based broadcaster (e.g.,providing streaming media content). In some examples, the networkbroadcaster 102 is a national television network broadcaster.

The example network signal 104 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 iscommunicated by the network broadcaster 102 to the affiliatebroadcasters 106 a-c. In some examples, the network signal 104 includesa network watermark that can be detected at the AME 114 (e.g., by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118). The network signal 104 is received bythe affiliate broadcasters 106 a-c, which can interrupt broadcasting ofportions of the network signal 104 to incorporate affiliate mediacontent (e.g., local commercials, local programming, etc.) into abroadcast. The network signal 104 may include video and/or audio media.

The example affiliate broadcasters 106 a-c of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 broadcast media to viewers/listeners. The affiliate broadcasters106 a-c transmit the affiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c. The affiliatebroadcasters 106 a-c may transmit the affiliate broadcast signals 108a-c to a specific area (e.g., via antenna transmission technology, viacable distribution, via the Internet, etc.).

The example affiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c of the illustratedexample of FIG. 1 include at least portions of the network signal 104.In some examples in which one or more of the affiliate broadcasters 106a-c do not interrupt the network signal 104 with affiliate programming,the affiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c are identical to the networksignal 104. In some examples, portions of the network signal 104 arereplaced with media selected for insertion by the one or more of theaffiliate broadcasters 106 a-c (e.g., causing an “affiliate interrupt”).The affiliate broadcast 106 a-c may be accessible to viewers indifferent areas. For example, the first affiliate broadcaster 106 a maybroadcast in the Louisville area, the second affiliate broadcaster 106 bmay broadcast in the Philadelphia area, etc. In the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1 , the first household 110 a is able to access the firstaffiliate broadcast signal 108 a from the first affiliate broadcaster106 a.

The example households 110 a-c of the illustrated example of FIG. 1represents locations at which media is accessed. In some examples, thehouseholds 110 a-c are not physical locations, but instead representdevices which may access media signals (e.g., a smartphone, a radio,etc.). In some examples, the households 110 a-c may include monitoringdevices utilized by the AME 114 to detect and/or identify mediapresented at the households 110 a-c. For example, one or more of thehouseholds 110 a-c may correspond to panelist households. Panelists areusers registered on panels maintained by a ratings entity (e.g., anaudience measurement company) that owns and/or operates the ratingsentity subsystem. In the illustrated examples, the households 110 a-ccommunicate the media monitoring signals 112 a-c to the AME 114. In someexamples, the media monitoring signals 112 a-c are communicated from amonitoring device (e.g., a personal media monitor device) at thehouseholds 110 a-c to the AME 114. The first household 110 a accessesthe first affiliate broadcast signal 108 a from the first affiliatebroadcaster 106 a. In some examples, ones of the households 110 a-c mayaccess affiliate broadcast signals from other affiliate broadcasters.

The example media monitoring signals 112 a-c of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1 represent media and/or data pertaining to media observed atthe households 110 a-c. For example, media monitoring devices may recordor otherwise collect data on media that is presented in a respectivehousehold, transmitting such data as the media monitoring signals 112a-c to the AME 114.

The example AME 114 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 accesses themedia monitoring signals 112 a-c to determine media metrics (e.g.,viewership, reach, etc.). The AME 114 of the illustrated exampleincludes the MMS 116 and the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118.

The example MMS 116 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 accesses theaffiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c. The MMS 116 may include one or morelocations configured to access a plurality of media signals to enablebroad media monitoring by the AME 114. In some examples, the MMS 116 maybe equipped with long-distance receiving equipment to access mediasignals in other localities (e.g., to access affiliate broadcast signalsfrom affiliates that are not local to the MMS 116). In some examples,the MMS 116 includes multiple systems at different locations, positionedto access as many different media signals as possible. In some examples,the MMS 116 accesses the network signal 104 directly. The MMS 116communicates example media signals 117 and/or data associated with mediasignals (e.g., signatures, watermarks, etc.) to the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118 to be utilized for detecting affiliate interrupts.

The example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1 detects affiliate interrupts in the media signals 117. Theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 may access the media signals 117directly from the MMS 116 and/or from other components of the AME. Insome examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 accesses watermarksand/or signatures corresponding to the media signals. An examplestructure of the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 and example techniquesperformed by the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 are illustrated anddescribed in FIG. 2 and the flowcharts of FIGS. 3-7B.

The example interrupt report data 120 of the illustrated example of FIG.1 is an output of the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 includingindications of affiliate interrupts detected in the affiliate broadcastsignals 108 a-c. In some examples, the interrupt report data 120 may becommunicated by the AME 114 to the network broadcaster 102 to inform thenetwork broadcaster 102 of periods of the network signal 104 that wereinterrupted in the affiliate broadcast signals 108 a-c.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118to detect affiliate interrupts in accordance with the teachings of thisdisclosure. The example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 accessesexample affiliate audiovisual signals 202 and network audiovisualsignals 204 as part of the media signals 117 from the MMS 116. Theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 includes an example affiliate signalreceiver 206, an example reference signal receiver 208, an examplewatermark detector 218, an example audio signature generator 220, anexample video signature generator 222, an example interrupt identifier224, an example watermark analyzer 226, an example audio signatureanalyzer 228, an example video signature analyzer 230, an examplealignment analyzer 232, an example video signature comparator 234, andan example interrupt report generator 236. The example interrupt reportgenerator generates the interrupt report data 120.

The example affiliate signal receiver 206 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 accesses the affiliate audiovisual signals 202. In some examples,the affiliate audiovisual signals 202 and the network audiovisualsignals 204 are communicated from the MMS 116 to the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118, and are included in the media signals 117. In someexamples, the affiliate audiovisual signals 202 and/or the networkaudiovisual signals 204 are accessed from another component at the AME114. In some examples, the affiliate signal receiver 206 includescommunication infrastructure (e.g., antennas, cable connections,Internet connectivity, etc.) to access the affiliate audiovisual signals202. In some examples, the affiliate audiovisual signals 202 arereceived from the MMS 116 and/or another component of the AME 114. Inthe illustrated example, the affiliate signal receiver 206 communicatesthe affiliate audio signals 210 to the watermark detector 218 and/or theaudio signature generator 220. In the illustrated example, the affiliatesignal receiver 206 communicates the affiliate video signals to thevideo signature generator 222.

The example reference signal receiver 208 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 accesses the network audiovisual signals 204. In some examples,the reference signal receiver 208 includes communication infrastructure(e.g., antennas, cable connections, Internet connectivity, etc.) toaccess the network audiovisual signals 204. In some examples, thereference signal receiver 208 receives the network audiovisual signals204 from the MMS 116 and/or another component of the AME 114. In theillustrated example, the reference signal receiver 208 communicates thereference audio signals to the audio signature generator 220 and thereference video signals 216 to the video signature generator 222. Asused herein, the network audiovisual signals 204 are sometimes referredto as “reference signals,” as they represent the original networkbroadcast (without any interrupts caused by affiliate broadcasters) andthus can be utilized as a reference against which to compare affiliatebroadcasts.

The example watermark detector 218 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2detects watermarks in the affiliate audio signals 210. In some examples,the watermark detector 218 is able to discern between watermarks encodedby a network (e.g., network codes) and watermarks encoded by anaffiliate (e.g., final distributor codes, also referred to as “local”codes). For example, the watermark detector 218 may be able to determinewhether a watermark is a network watermark or a local watermark by alength of a code, a manner in which the code is embedded, data that isdetermined based on decoding the code, and/or any other technique. Insome examples, the watermark detector 218 includes a watermark decoderto determine identifying information based on the watermarks detected inthe affiliate audio signals 210. The watermark detector 218 of theillustrated example of FIG. 2 communicates with the watermark analyzer226 to enable detection of interrupt periods based on watermarks encodedin the affiliate audio signals 210. In some examples, in response to thewatermark detector 218 not detecting watermarks in the affiliate audiosignals 210, the interrupt identifier 224 may utilize other techniques(e.g., audio signatures, video signatures, etc.) to detect affiliateinterrupts.

The example audio signature generator 220 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 generates and/or accesses audio signatures for the affiliateaudio signals 210 and the reference audio signals 214. In some examples,audio signatures for the affiliate audio signals 210 and/or thereference audio signals 214 may be generated separately (e.g., atanother component of the AME 114). In some examples, the audio signaturegenerator 220 generates and/or accesses audio signatures correspondingto the affiliate audio signals 210 and/or the reference audio signals214 in response to a determination by the interrupt identifier 224 toutilize signatures for affiliate interrupt detection (e.g., in the eventwatermarks are not available). The audio signature generator 220communicates with the audio signature analyzer 228 to enable detectionof affiliate interrupts based on audio signatures.

The example video signature generator 222 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 generates and/or accesses video signatures for the affiliatevideo signals 212 and/or the reference video signals 216. In someexamples, video signatures for the affiliate video signals 212 and/orthe reference video signals 216 may be generated separately (e.g., atanother component of the AME 114). In some examples, the video signaturegenerator 222 generates and/or accesses video signatures based on adetermination by the interrupt identifier 224 to utilize video signaturecomparison for affiliate interrupt identification. The video signaturegenerator 222 communicates with the video signature analyzer 230 toenable affiliate interrupt detection.

The example interrupt identifier 224 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 detects affiliate interrupts represented in the affiliate audiovisualsignals 202. The interrupt identifier 224 may utilize one or more ofwatermarks detection, audio signature comparison, and/or video signaturecomparison to detect affiliate interrupts in the affiliate audiovisualsignals 202. In some examples, the interrupt identifier 224 isconfigured with logic to cause such techniques (watermarks, audiosignatures, video signatures) to be utilized based on a preference. Forexample, the interrupt identifier 224 may utilize the watermark analyzer226 to detect affiliate interrupts when watermarks are detected by thewatermark detector 218, to avoid generating audio and/or videosignatures. In some examples, if audio and/or video signatures arealready available, the interrupt identifier may preferably utilize theaudio signature analyzer 228 or the video signature analyzer 230 todetect affiliate interrupts. In some examples, the video signatureanalyzer 230 may be utilized to improve the accuracy with which timeperiods corresponding to affiliate interrupts are determined, as thevideo signatures may include additional differentiable features that arenot comprehensible from the audio signatures or watermarks. In someexamples, the interrupt identifier 224 utilizes as many of the affiliateinterrupt detection techniques as possible (e.g., utilizing thewatermark analyzer 226 if watermarks are detected by the watermarkdetector 218 and utilizing the audio signature analyzer 228 and thevideo signature analyzer 230 for signature comparison). The interruptidentifier 224 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 may utilize any oneor more of the watermark analyzer 226, the audio signature analyzer 228,and/or the video signature analyzer 230 in any order or combination. Theinterrupt identifier 224 of the illustrated example outputs datapertaining to detected interrupts (e.g., start times, end times, contentidentification during the interrupts, etc.) to the interrupt reportgenerator 236.

The watermark analyzer 226 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 analyzeswatermarks detected by the watermark detector 218 to detect affiliateinterrupt periods. In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226sequentially steps through an audio sample, determining whether networkcodes and/or local/affiliate codes were detected throughout the audiosample. In some examples, when the watermark detector 218 detects both anetwork code and a local code, the watermark analyzer 226 can determinethat an affiliate interrupt is not occurring, as the media contentincludes the network code. In some examples, when the watermark detector218 detects a local code without a network code, an affiliate interruptcan be determined to be occurring at that time, as the media includesonly a local watermark without the network watermark. Networkaudiovisual signals which do not include a network watermark but doinclude a local watermark (thereby indicating they support watermarkencoding) are indicative of an affiliate interrupt. As used herein, alocal watermark is interchangeably referred to as a final distributorwatermark and refers to a watermark embedded by an entity prior to finaldistribution of media. In some examples, when the watermark analyzer 226does not detect a local code nor a network code, the watermark analyzer226 may indicate that it cannot determine whether an affiliate interruptoccurred, as the media does not include watermarks at the time. In somesuch examples, the interrupt identifier 224 may cause the audiosignature analyzer 228 and/or the video signature analyzer 230 toanalyze the affiliate audiovisual signals 202 when the watermarkanalyzer 226 is unable to utilize watermarks to detect if an affiliateinterrupt occurred.

In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226 may monitor a time since alast network watermark was detected (sometimes referred to herein as a“bridge time”) to determine whether a watermark sample includes anaffiliate interrupt. For example, if a network watermark is encodedevery 2 seconds, the bridge time may be configured to be a multiple ofthis frequency. If the bridge time is configured at five-times thewatermark frequency, the watermark analyzer 226 would determine anaffiliate interrupt occurred when the network watermark has not beendetected for ten seconds, during which local watermarks have beendetected. The bridge time may be configured based on a known reliabilityand detectability of the network watermark. With a highly reliablenetwork watermark, it would be unlikely that five-times the watermarkfrequency would occur without a network watermark being detected ifnetwork media is being presented. In some examples, the bridge time ofthe network watermark and the local watermark may be different (e.g.,the local watermark may be encoded at a higher frequency than thenetwork watermark, or vice-versa). In some examples, in response to boththe bridge time of the network watermark and the bridge time of thelocal watermark having elapsed without detecting a watermark, thewatermark analyzer 226 may determine that the content either is notencoded with watermarks or no media is being presented.

In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226 may detect affiliateinterrupts based on different watermark formats. For example, thewatermark detector 218 may detect a first watermark format includingboth local codes and network codes, as well as a second watermark formatincluding both local codes and network codes. In such examples, thewatermark analyzer 226 can leverage the local codes from both formatsand the network codes from both formats to determine whether anaffiliate interrupt has occurred. In some examples, the differentformats (and the respective different codes in each format) may havedifferent repetition frequencies, and consequently different bridgetimes. As previously discussed, the watermark analyzer 226 can determinean affiliate interrupt occurred for a time period in which the localcodes were detected and the network codes were not (e.g., the localcodes in one or both formats were detected but neither of the networkcodes from either format were detected, for at least the bridge times ofboth formats of network codes).

The example audio signature analyzer 228 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 utilizes audio signatures accessed and/or generated by the audiosignature generator 220 to detect affiliate interrupt periods. In someexamples, when the reference audio signals 214 are available, the audiosignature analyzer 228 compares signatures corresponding to theaffiliate audio signals 210 with signatures corresponding to thereference audio signals 214 to detect affiliate interrupts. In some suchexamples, the audio signature analyzer 228 compares audio signaturescorresponding to the same time from the reference audio signals 214 andthe affiliate audio signals 210. The audio signature analyzer 228 candetect an interrupt period for durations during which the signaturescorresponding to the reference audio signals 214 do not match signaturescorresponding to the affiliate audio signals 210, if the durationssatisfy an interrupt duration threshold. For example, the interruptduration threshold may be configured to avoid identifying a localinterrupt for very brief discrepancies (e.g., one second, two seconds,etc.), which may be either an error in the signature comparison or abrief discrepancy in the affiliate audio signal. The interrupt durationthreshold can be configured to be equal to the minimum interruptduration that would be of interest to a network.

In some examples, such as when the reference audio signals 214 are notavailable, the audio signature analyzer 228 may compare audio signaturescorresponding to a group of the affiliate audio signals 210 associatedwith a respective group of the affiliate stations. In some examples, theaudio signature analyzer 228 compares signatures corresponding to agroup of the affiliate signals at a same time and determines whether theaffiliate signals match at that time. In some such examples, the audiosignature analyzer 228 may flag a time or a time segment as non-matchingwhen signatures for the affiliate signals do not match at a time or fora time segment. In some such examples, the audio signature analyzer 228may analyze the identified non-matching time segments to determine if(1) the non-matching time segment satisfies a difference thresholdindicating the differences are substantial enough (e.g., the affiliateaudio signals 210 are different enough) to represent an affiliateinterrupt and/or (2) whether the non-matching time segment satisfies aduration threshold associated with the minimum detectable affiliateinterrupt (e.g., a duration threshold configurable based on a network'spreference or the AMEs preference for a minimum interrupt detectiontime). In some examples, if any one of the affiliate signals isnon-matching to the remaining affiliate signals, this one of theaffiliate signals is flagged as having an affiliate interrupt during thetime segment.

In some examples, when a first group of the affiliate signals does notmatch a second group of the affiliate signals for a time segment, thesmaller of the two groups may be identified as the affiliate interrupt.For example, if ten affiliate broadcasts corresponding to the samenetwork correspond to the same media (based on signature matching)during a time period, and three affiliate broadcasts correspond todifferent media, the three affiliate broadcasts may be flagged as havingan affiliate interrupt during the time segment. In some examples, if asimilar number of affiliate broadcasts match with a similar number ofother ones of a plurality of broadcasts (e.g., out of twelve broadcasts,five match to each other and seven match to each other), the audiosignature analyzer 228 may perform further analysis (e.g., such asattempting to compare one of the affiliate broadcasts with a networksignal) to determine which grouping of affiliate broadcasts correspondsto the network audiovisual signals 204 and which corresponds to anaffiliate interrupt.

In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines a firstnumber of the affiliate signals that correspond to the largest group ofmatching affiliate signals. For example, the audio signature analyzer228 may determine that there are six affiliate signals that match eachother, another three affiliate signals that match each other (based onaudio signature comparison), and four individual signals that do notmatch any other signal. In such an example, the audio signature analyzer228 would determine that the largest group of matching affiliate signalsincludes eight affiliate signals. In some examples, the audio signatureanalyzer 228 determines whether the number of matching affiliate signalsin the largest group satisfies a threshold associated with a minimumnumber of matching signals to determine an affiliate interrupt is notoccurring. For example, if twenty affiliate signals are being analyzed,the threshold may be set to twelve affiliate signals, meaning that ifless than twelve affiliate signals are in the largest group (e.g., arematching), the audio signature analyzer 228 can identify an affiliateinterrupt, since there are numerous signals that are presentingdifferent media. In such an example, the audio signature analyzer 228may identify the signals that are not in the largest group asexperiencing affiliate interrupts.

The example video signature analyzer 230 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 detects affiliate interrupts based on video signatures generatedand/or accessed by the video signature generator 222. In some examples,the video signature analyzer 230 compares video signatures from anaffiliate signal and a reference signal, while in other examples thevideo signature analyzer 230 compares video signatures from twodifferent affiliate signals. In some examples, the video signatureanalyzer 230 accesses a buffer of the video signatures from thereference video signals 216 to compare to signatures corresponding tothe one or more of the affiliate video signals. The video signatureanalyzer 230 of the illustrated example includes the example alignmentanalyzer 232 and the example video signature comparator 234.

The example alignment analyzer 232 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2performs alignment of the video signatures of the two signals beingcompared. In some examples, due to different encoding or other factors,there may be an offset in time between the video signatures from theaffiliate signal and the video signatures from the reference signal. Thealignment analyzer 232 can search the video signatures for strongmatches between the affiliate signal and the reference signal andutilize these strong matches to shift the time-position of thesignatures so that the signatures being compared correspond to the sametimes in the media presentation. Once the alignment analyzer 232 hasaligned the signatures of the two signals being compared, the videosignature comparator 234 can initiate the comparison process.

The example video signature comparator 234 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 compares video signatures at corresponding times to detectaffiliate interrupts. In some examples, the video signature comparator234 calculates difference values between corresponding video signaturesand compares these difference values to a difference threshold. If thedifference value for a comparison exceeds the difference threshold, andthere are a quantity of temporally adjacent video signatures that alsoexceed the threshold, sufficient to satisfy an interrupt durationthreshold, the video signature comparator 234 may identify an affiliateinterrupt. For example, the video signature comparator 234 may firstidentify all corresponding signatures (e.g., sets of signatures whichare aligned in time) which exceed the difference threshold, and thendetermine whether any of these corresponding signatures exceeding thedifference threshold are adjacent in time and satisfy the interruptduration threshold. Finally, the video signature comparator 234identifies interrupt periods based on the first of the temporallyadjacent samples which exceeds the difference threshold and extendinguntil the last of the temporally adjacent samples exceeding thedifference threshold.

In some examples, if there is existing knowledge of time periods thatmay correspond to affiliate interrupts (e.g., based on affiliateinterrupt detection from the watermark analyzer 226 and/or audiosignature analyzer 228), the video signature comparator may focus onthese time periods to more accurately define the start and end times ofthe affiliate interrupts based on video signature comparison. Forexample, due to the different characteristics represented in a videosignature comparison (e.g., colors of specific pixels), the time atwhich local interrupts began and concluded may be determined with higheraccuracy than may be determined based on watermarks and/or audiosignatures alone. In such examples where the video signature analyzer230 has existing knowledge of time periods that may correspond toaffiliate interrupts, the video signature analyzer 230 may analyzecorresponding video signatures to extend or reduce the start and endtimes of the interrupt period based on whether the video signaturesmatch at times around the boundaries of the affiliate interrupt timeperiods. For example, if the video signature analyzer 230 is informedthat an affiliate interrupt began at 04:23 in the affiliate video signal(based on a determination from the watermark analyzer 226 and/or theaudio signature analyzer 228), the video signature analyzer 230 cancompare video signatures for the affiliate signal with video signaturesfor the reference signal at times around 04:23 to determine specificallywhen the affiliate interrupt began. The video signature analyzer 230 canperform similar analysis to refine the end time of the affiliateinterrupt based on video signature comparison.

The example interrupt report generator 236 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 generates interrupt report data. In some examples, the interruptreport generator 236 accesses affiliate interrupt periods determined bythe interrupt identifier 242, and aggregates data corresponding to theinterrupt periods into a report for a network. For example, theinterrupt report data 120 may include a number of affiliate interruptsthat occurred during a time period (e.g., a day, a week, etc.), specificstart and end times of the affiliate interrupts, durations of theaffiliate interrupts, indications of whether the affiliate interruptswere expected, etc. For example, the interrupt report generator 236 mayinclude an indication of whether the affiliate interrupt was expectedbased on whether the time periods reported from the interrupt identifiercorrespond to known time periods for commercial pods (e.g., asdetermined based on cue tones, indications from a network, etc.).

While an example manner of implementing the affiliate interrupt analyzer118 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , one or more of the elements,processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided,re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way.Further, the example affiliate signal receiver 206, the examplereference signal receiver 208, the example watermark detector 218, theexample audio signature generator 220, the example video signaturegenerator 222, the example interrupt identifier 224, the examplewatermark analyzer 226, the example audio signature analyzer 228, theexample video signature analyzer 230, the example alignment analyzer232, the example video signature comparator 234, the example interruptreport generator 236 and/or, more generally, the example affiliateinterrupt analyzer 118 of FIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware. Thus, for example, any of the example affiliate signalreceiver 206, the example reference signal receiver 208, the examplewatermark detector 218, the example audio signature generator 220, theexample video signature generator 222, the example interrupt identifier224, the example watermark analyzer 226, the example audio signatureanalyzer 228, the example video signature analyzer 230, the examplealignment analyzer 232, the example video signature comparator 234, theexample interrupt report generator 236 and/or, more generally, theexample affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIG. 2 could be implementedby one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits,programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s), graphicsprocessing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)).When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent tocover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one ofthe example affiliate signal receiver 206, the example reference signalreceiver 208, the example watermark detector 218, the example audiosignature generator 220, the example video signature generator 222, theexample interrupt identifier 224, the example watermark analyzer 226,the example audio signature analyzer 228, the example video signatureanalyzer 230, the example alignment analyzer 232, the example videosignature comparator 234, or the example interrupt report generator 236is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computerreadable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.including the software and/or firmware. Further still, the exampleaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIG. 1 may include one or moreelements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 2 , and/or may include more than one of any or allof the illustrated elements, processes and devices. As used herein, thephrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompassesdirect communication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g.,wired) communication and/or constant communication, but ratheradditionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals,scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.

Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the affiliate interrupt analyzer118 of FIG. 2 are shown in FIGS. 3-7B. The machine readable instructionsmay be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executableprogram for execution by a computer processor such as the processor 1112shown in the example processor platform 1100 discussed below inconnection with FIG. 11 . The program may be embodied in software storedon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, afloppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associatedwith the processor 1112, but the entire program and/or parts thereofcould alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor1112 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further,although the example program is described with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3-7B, many other methods of implementingthe example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 may alternatively be used.For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/orsome of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.Additionally or alternatively, any or all of the blocks may beimplemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., discrete and/orintegrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, acomparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.)structured to perform the corresponding operation without executingsoftware or firmware.

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in oneor more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmentedformat, a packaged format, etc. Machine readable instructions asdescribed herein may be stored as data (e.g., portions of instructions,code, representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create,manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and storedon one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers).The machine readable instructions may require one or more ofinstallation, modification, adaptation, updating, combining,supplementing, configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking,distribution, reassignment, etc. in order to make them directly readableand/or executable by a computing device and/or other machine. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be stored in multipleparts, which are individually compressed, encrypted, and stored onseparate computing devices, wherein the parts when decrypted,decompressed, and combined form a set of executable instructions thatimplement a program such as that described herein. In another example,the machine readable instructions may be stored in a state in which theymay be read by a computer, but require addition of a library (e.g., adynamic link library (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), anapplication programming interface (API), etc. in order to execute theinstructions on a particular computing device or other device. Inanother example, the machine readable instructions may need to beconfigured (e.g., settings stored, data input, network addressesrecorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructions and/or thecorresponding program(s) can be executed in whole or in part. Thus, thedisclosed machine readable instructions and/or corresponding program(s)are intended to encompass such machine readable instructions and/orprogram(s) regardless of the particular format or state of the machinereadable instructions and/or program(s) when stored or otherwise at restor in transit.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 3-7B may beimplemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form suchas A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as(1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) Bwith C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context ofdescribing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the contextof describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context ofdescribing the performance or execution of processes, instructions,actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B”is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at leastone A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B.Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performanceor execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/orsteps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer toimplementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B,and (3) at least one A and at least one B.

Example machine readable instructions 300 that may be executed by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to performaffiliate interrupt detection are illustrated in FIG. 3 . With referenceto the preceding figures and associated descriptions, the examplemachine readable instructions 300 of FIG. 3 begin with the affiliateinterrupt analyzer 118 accessing one or more affiliate signalscorresponding to a same network broadcaster to analyze (Block 302). Insome examples, the affiliate signal receiver 206 accesses one or moreaffiliate signals corresponding to a same network broadcaster toanalyze.

At block 304, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifan affiliate signal with audio watermarks encoded is available. In someexamples, the watermark detector 218 determines whether one or more ofthe accessed affiliate signals includes embedded watermarks. In responseto determining that an affiliate signal with audio watermarks encoded isavailable, processing transfers to block 306. Conversely, in response todetermining that an affiliate signal with audio watermarks encoded isnot available, processing transfers to block 308.

At block 306, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesaffiliate interrupts via watermarks. In some examples, the interruptidentifier 224 determines affiliate interrupts via watermarks. In someexamples, the watermark analyzer 226 determines affiliate interrupts viawatermarks. Example instructions for determining affiliate interruptsvia watermarks are disclosed in connection with FIG. 4 .

At block 308, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether an affiliate signal and a reference signal is available. In someexamples, the affiliate signal receiver 206 determines if an affiliatesignal is available, and the reference signal receiver 208 determines ifa corresponding reference signal is available. For example, thereference signal may be a network signal for a network corresponding toan affiliate signal received. In some examples, determining if theaffiliate signal and the reference signal are available includesdetermining whether a network signal and an affiliate signal correspondto the same network. In response to determining that an affiliate signaland a reference signal is available, processing transfers to block 310.Conversely, in response to not determining an affiliate signal and areference signal are available, processing transfers to block 312.

At block 310, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesaffiliate interrupts on an affiliate signal via audio signaturecomparison between the affiliate signal and the reference signal. Insome examples, the interrupt identifier 224 determines affiliateinterrupts on an affiliate signal via audio signature comparison betweenthe affiliate signal and the reference signal. In some examples, theaudio signature analyzer 228 determines affiliate interrupts on anaffiliate signal via audio signature comparison between the affiliatesignal and the reference signal. Example instructions for determiningaffiliate interrupts on an affiliate signal via audio signaturecomparison between the affiliate signal and the reference signal aredisclosed in connection with FIG. 5 .

At block 312, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifmultiple affiliate signals corresponding to a same network areavailable. In some examples, the affiliate signal receiver 206determines if multiple affiliate signals corresponding to the samenetwork are available. In response to multiple affiliate signalscorresponding to a same network being available, processing transfers toblock 314. Conversely, in response to multiple affiliate signalscorresponding to a same network not being available, processingtransfers to block 318.

At block 314, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesaffiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on audio signaturecomparison between affiliate signals. In some examples, the interruptidentifier 224 determines affiliate interrupts on affiliate signalsbased on audio signature comparison between affiliate signals. In someexamples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines affiliateinterrupts on affiliate signals based on audio signature comparisonbetween affiliate signals. Example instructions for determiningaffiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on audio signaturecomparison between affiliate signals are disclosed in connection withFIG. 6 .

At block 316, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 decideswhether to determine interrupt boundaries using video signaturecomparison. In some examples, the interrupt identifier 224 decideswhether to determine interrupt boundaries using video signaturecomparison. In response to determining interrupt boundaries using videosignature comparison, processing transfers to block 318. Conversely, inresponse to not determining interrupt boundaries using video signaturecomparison, processing transfers to block 322.

At block 318, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether video signals for affiliate signal(s) are available. In someexamples, the video signature generator 222 determines whether videosignals for the affiliate signals are available. In response to videosignals for the affiliate signals being available, processing transfersto block 320. Conversely, in response to video signals for the affiliatesignals not being available, processing transfers to block 322.

At block 320, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesaffiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on video signaturecomparison. In some examples, the interrupt identifier determinesaffiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on video signaturecomparison. In some examples, the video signature analyzer 230determines affiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on videosignature comparison. Example instructions for determining affiliateinterrupts on affiliate signals based on video signature comparison aredisclosed in FIGS. 7A-7B.

At block 322, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether there are additional affiliate signal(s) to analyze. In someexamples, the affiliate signal receiver 206 determines whether there areadditional affiliate signal(s) to analyze. In response to there beingadditional affiliate signals to analyze, processing transfers to block302. Conversely, in response to there not being additional affiliatesignals to analyze, processing transfers to block 324.

At block 324, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 generatesinterrupt report data. In some examples, the interrupt report generator236 generates interrupt report data.

Example machine readable instructions 400 that may be executed by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine localmedia interrupts via watermarks are illustrated in FIG. 4 . Withreference to the preceding figures and associated descriptions, theexample machine readable instructions 400 of FIG. 4 begin with theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 accessing a sample of an affiliateaudio signal (Block 402). In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226accesses a sample of the affiliate audio signal.

At block 404, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 sets a timestep size for analysis. In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226sets a time step size for analysis. For example, the watermark analyzer226 can analyze segments that are one second in duration, two seconds induration, etc.

At block 406, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 initiates ananalysis time position at a first watermark in the sample. In someexamples, the watermark analyzer 226 initiates the analysis timeposition at the first watermark in the sample of the affiliate audiosignal.

At block 408, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifthe first watermark in the sample is a network watermark. In someexamples, the watermark analyzer 226 determines if the first watermarkin the sample is a network watermark. For example, the watermarkanalyzer 226 may determine if the first watermark is a network watermarkbased on a length of the first watermark, based on a format of the firstwatermark, based on data that can be decoded from the first watermark,and/or based on any other technique. In response to the first watermarkin the sample being a network watermark, processing transfers to block410. Conversely, in response to the first watermark in the sample notbeing a network watermark, processing transfers to block 414.

At block 410, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 steps thetime position forward by the time step size. In some examples, thewatermark analyzer 226 steps the analysis time position forward by thetime step size.

At block 412, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines,as at block 408, if a network watermark was detected at the analysistime in the sample. In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226determines, as at block 408, if the network watermark was detected atthe analysis time in the sample. In response to the network watermarkbeing detected at the analysis time in the sample, processing transfersto block 424. Conversely, in response to the network watermark not beingdetected at the analysis time in the sample, processing transfers toblock 414.

At block 414, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifa local watermark is detected at the analysis time in the sample. Insome examples, the watermark analyzer 226 determines if a localwatermark is detected at the analysis time in the sample. For example,the watermark analyzer 226 may determine if the first watermark is alocal watermark based on a length of the first watermark, based on aformat of the first watermark, based on data that can be decoded fromthe first watermark, and/or based on any other technique. In response toa local watermark being detected at the analysis time in the sample,processing transfers to block 420. Conversely, in response to the localwatermark not being detected at the analysis time in the sample,processing transfers to block 416.

At block 416, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifa bridge time has elapsed since the last watermark of any type (e.g., anetwork watermark/code or a local watermark/code) was detected. In someexamples, the watermark analyzer 226 determines if the bridge time haselapsed since the last watermark of any type was detected. In responseto the bridge time having elapsed since the last watermark of any typewas detected, processing transfers to block 418. Conversely, in responseto the bridge time not having elapsed since the last watermark of anytype was detected, processing transfers to block 424.

At block 418, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 identifiesthe current sample and any immediately prior samples without watermarksas lacking watermarks. In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226identifies the current sample and any immediately prior samples withoutwatermarks as lacking watermarks. Such samples without watermarks maycorrespond to media that is not encoded with watermarks, or a lack ofmedia represented in the affiliate signal, for example.

At block 420, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifa bridge time of the network watermark has elapsed since the lastnetwork watermark was detected. In some examples, the watermark analyzer226 determines if the bridge time of the network watermark has elapsedsince the last network watermark was detected. In response to the bridgetime of the network watermark having elapsed since the last networkwatermark was detected, processing transfers to block 420. Conversely,in response to the bridge time of the network watermark not havingelapsed since the last network watermark was detected, processingtransfers to block 424.

At block 422, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 identifiesthe current sample and any immediately prior samples without networkwatermarks as lacking network watermarks. In some examples, thewatermark analyzer 226 identifies the current sample and any immediatelyprior samples without network watermarks as lacking network watermarks.

At block 424, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifthere is time remaining in the current sample of the affiliate audiosignal being processed. In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226determines if there is time remaining in the current sample. In responseto there being time remaining in the current sample, processingtransfers to block 410. Conversely, in response to there not being timeremaining in the current sample, processing transfers to block 426.

At block 426, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifthere are additional samples of the affiliate audio signal to analyze.In some examples, the watermark analyzer 226 determines if there areadditional samples to analyze. In response to there being additionalsamples to analyze, processing transfers to block 402. Conversely, inresponse to there not being any additional samples to analyze,processing transfers to block 428.

At block 428, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesinterrupt periods for time periods of the affiliate audio signalcorresponding to samples lacking network watermarks. In some examples,the example watermark analyzer 226 determines interrupt periods for thesamples identified as lacking network watermarks (e.g., at block 422).

Example machine readable instructions 500 that may be executed by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine localmedia interrupts on an affiliate signal via audio signature comparisonbetween the affiliate signal and the reference signal are illustrated inFIG. 5 . With reference to the preceding figures and associateddescriptions, the example machine readable instructions 500 of FIG. 5begin with the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selecting an affiliatesignal (Block 502). In some examples, audio signature analyzer 228selects an affiliate signal.

At block 504, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects acorresponding reference signal for the network to which the affiliatebelongs. In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 selects acorresponding reference signal for the network to which the affiliatebelongs.

At block 506, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 generatesand/or accesses signatures for the affiliate signal and the referencesignal. In some examples, the audio signature generator 220 generatesaudio signatures for the affiliate signal and/or the reference signal.In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 accesses signaturesfor the affiliate signal and/or the reference signal from the audiosignature generator 220 and/or from another location (e.g., thesignatures may be generated at another component of the AME 114, or atanother external location).

At block 508, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 comparesaffiliate signatures with reference signatures at corresponding times.In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 compares theaffiliate signatures with the reference signatures at correspondingtimes.

At block 510, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 flags timesat which the affiliate signatures do not match the reference signaturesas potential local interrupt times. In some examples, the audiosignature analyzer 228 flags times at which the affiliates do not matchthe reference signatures as potential local interrupt times.

At block 512, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesinterrupt periods for time spans which (1) include potential localinterrupt times without matching signatures identified between the localinterrupt times and (2) satisfy an interrupt duration threshold. In someexamples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines interrupt periodsfor time spans which (1) include potential local interrupt times withoutmatching signatures identified between the local interrupt times and (2)satisfy an interrupt duration threshold. In some examples, the audiosignature analyzer 228 first identifies groupings of potential localinterrupt times (e.g., indications of potential local interrupts withoutmatching signatures found between the indications), and compares thedurations of these groupings to the interrupt duration threshold. Inresponse to identifying time periods in which matching signatures werenot identified, and which exceed the interrupt duration threshold, anaffiliate interrupt period is identified.

At block 514, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether there are additional affiliate signals to analyze. In responseto there being an additional affiliate signal to analyze, processingtransfers to block 502. Conversely, in response to there not beingadditional affiliate signals to analyze, processing terminates.

Example machine readable instructions 600 that may be executed by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine localmedia interrupts on affiliate signals based on audio signaturecomparison on affiliate signals are illustrated in FIG. 6 . Withreference to the preceding figures and associated descriptions, theexample machine readable instructions 600 of FIG. 6 begin with theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 generating and/or accessing audiosignatures for the affiliate signal and the reference signal (Block602). In some examples, the audio signature generator 220 generatesaudio signatures for the affiliate signal and/or the reference signal,and/or the audio signature analyzer 228 accesses audio signatures forthe affiliate signal and/or the reference signal.

At block 604, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects atime segment. In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 selectsa time segment.

At block 606, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 comparesbroadcast signals during the time segment based on audio signatures. Insome examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 compares broadcastsignals during the time segment based on audio signatures.

At block 608, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifthe broadcast signals include similar media for the time segment. Insome examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines if thebroadcast signals include similar media for the time segment. Forexample, the audio signature analyzer 228 can determine whether audiosignatures match during the time segment (e.g. match within a specificthreshold difference quantity). In response to the broadcast signalsincluding similar media for the time segment, processing transfers toblock 612. Conversely, in response to the broadcast signals notincluding similar media for the time segment, processing transfers toblock 610.

At block 610, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 identifiesthe time segment as a non-matching interval of the broadcast signal. Insome examples, the example audio signature analyzer 228 identifies thetime segment as a non-matching interval of the broadcast signal.

At block 612, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether any time segments of the affiliate broadcast signals remain foranalysis. In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determineswhether any time segments remain for analysis. In response to therebeing time segments remaining for analysis, processing transfers toblock 604. Conversely, in response to there not being time segmentsremaining for analysis, processing transfers to block 614.

At block 614, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 combinesconsecutive non-matching intervals to determine aggregate non-matchingintervals. In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 combinesconsecutive non-matching intervals (e.g., identified non-matchingintervals with no matching intervals in between them) to determine anaggregate non-matching interval corresponding to the group ofconsecutive non-matching intervals.

At block 616, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects anaggregate non-matching interval for analysis. In some examples, theaudio signature analyzer 228 selects an aggregate non-matching intervalfor analysis.

At block 618, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifthe aggregate non-matching interval satisfies a difference threshold. Insome examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines if theaggregate non-matching interval satisfies a difference quantitythreshold. For example, the difference quantity threshold may correspondto an amount difference (e.g., a percentage of difference) betweensignatures of the affiliate signal and the reference signal. In responseto satisfying a difference quantity threshold, processing transfers toblock 620. Conversely, in response to not satisfying a differencequantity threshold, processing transfers to block 624.

At block 620, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether the aggregate non-matching interval satisfies a durationthreshold. In some examples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determineswhether the aggregate non-matching interval satisfies the durationthreshold. In some examples, the duration threshold is configured as theminimum duration to be associated with an affiliate interrupt. Forexample, in some examples, if an interrupt is less than a second, thismay be too brief to determine that an affiliate interrupt occurred(e.g., there may have been a brief irregularity in one of the signals,there may have been an irregularity in signatures generated based on oneof the signals, etc.). In response to the aggregate non-matchinginterval satisfying the duration threshold, processing transfers toblock 622. Conversely, in response to the non-matching interval notsatisfying the duration threshold, processing transfers to block 624.

At block 622, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 identifiesthe aggregate non-matching interval as an affiliate interrupt. In someexamples, the audio signature analyzer 228 identifies the non-matchinginterval as an affiliate interrupt.

At block 624, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifall of the aggregate non-matching intervals have been analyzed. In someexamples, the audio signature analyzer 228 determines if all of theaggregate non-matching intervals have been analyzed. In response to notall of the aggregate non-matching intervals having been analyzed,processing transfers to block 616. Conversely, in response to all of theaggregate non-matching intervals having been analyzed, processingreturns to the machine readable instructions 300 of FIG. 3 and proceedsto block 316.

Example machine readable instructions 700 that may be executed by theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determineaffiliate interrupts on affiliate signals based on video signaturecomparison are illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7B. With reference to thepreceding figures and associated descriptions, the example machinereadable instructions 700 of FIGS. 7A-7B begin with the affiliateinterrupt analyzer 118 selecting an affiliate signal (Block 702). Insome examples, the video signature generator 222 selects an affiliatesignal.

At block 704, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects areference signal corresponding to a network feed for the networkassociated with the affiliate signal. In some examples, the videosignature generator 222 selects a reference signal corresponding to anetwork feed for the network associated with the affiliate signal basedon reference signals received at the reference signal receiver 208.

At block 706, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 generatesand/or accesses video signatures for the affiliate signal and thereference signal. In some examples, the video signature generator 222generates and/or accesses video signatures for the affiliate signal andthe reference signal. In some examples, the video signature generator222 accesses video signatures generated at a separate device (e.g., atanother component of the AME 114).

At block 708, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 performsalignment between the affiliate signal and the reference signal. In someexamples, the alignment analyzer 232 performs alignment between theaffiliate signal and the reference signal. For example, the alignmentanalyzer 232 can attempt to align the affiliate signal and the referencesignal in time by identifying matching video signatures and determininga time difference between the times of the matching signatures. Forexample, if a video signature or series of video signatures (e.g.,consecutive video signatures) associated with the affiliate signal matchvideo signatures of a reference signal with a one second offset (e.g., afirst video signature associated with the affiliate signal at 43:30matches a second video signature associated with the reference signal at43:29), the alignment analyzer 232 can adjust the timing of one of thesignals such that the matching video signatures have the same time, andthus the video signature comparator 234 can compare video signaturesfrom each signal that have the same time value.

At block 710, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether knowledge of interrupt periods is available. In some examples,the video signature analyzer 230 determines whether knowledge ofinterrupt periods is available. For example, if affiliate interruptswere already identified via watermarks and/or via audio signaturecomparison, then the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 may utilize thevideo signature analyzer 230 to further refine boundaries correspondingto the affiliate interrupt periods. In response to knowledge of theinterrupt periods being available, processing transfers to block 712.Conversely, in response to knowledge of the interrupt periods not beingavailable, processing transfers to block 732 of FIG. 7B.

At block 712, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects aninterrupt period for analysis. In some examples, the video signatureanalyzer 230 selects an interrupt period for analysis. In some examples,the video signature comparator 234 selects an interrupt period foranalysis.

At block 714, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects asample immediately prior to the start time of the selected interruptperiod. In some examples, the video signature comparator 234 selects asample immediately prior to the start time of the selected interruptperiod.

At block 716, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether a difference between the affiliate signatures and the referencesignatures during the sample satisfies a difference threshold. In someexamples, the video signature comparator 234 determines whether adifference between the affiliate signatures and the reference signaturesduring the sample satisfies the difference threshold. In response to thedifference between the affiliate signatures and the reference signaturessatisfying the difference threshold, processing transfers to block 718.Conversely, in response to the difference between the affiliatesignatures and the reference signatures not satisfying the differencethreshold, processing transfers to block 722.

At block 718, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 extends astart time of the interrupt period to a sample start time. In someexamples, the interrupt identifier 224 extends the start time of theinterrupt period to the sample start time. In some examples, the videosignature analyzer 230 extends the start time of the interrupt period tothe sample start time.

At block 720, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects asample immediately prior to the last analyzed sample. In some examples,the interrupt identifier 224 (e.g., via the video signature analyzer230) selects a sample immediately prior to the last analyzed sample.

At block 722, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects asample immediately prior to the end time of the interrupt period. Insome examples, the video signature analyzer 230 (e.g., via the videosignature comparator 234) selects a sample immediately prior to the endtime of the interrupt period.

At block 724, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether the difference between affiliate and reference signatures duringthe sample satisfies a difference threshold. In some examples, the videosignature comparator 234 whether the difference between affiliate andreference signatures during the sample satisfies a difference threshold.In response to the difference satisfying the difference threshold,processing transfers to block 726. Conversely, in response to thedifference not satisfying the threshold, processing transfers to block730.

At block 726, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 reduces anend time of the interrupt period to the sample end time. In someexamples, the video signature analyzer 230 reduces an end time of theinterrupt period to the sample end time.

At block 728, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects asample immediately prior to the last analyzed sample. In some examples,the video signature analyzer 230 (e.g., via the video signaturecomparator 234) selects a sample immediately prior to the last analyzedsample.

At block 730, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether there are additional interrupt periods to analyze. In responseto there being additional interrupt periods to analyze, processingtransfers to block 712. Conversely, in response to there not beingadditional interrupt periods to analyze, processing returns to themachine readable instructions 300 of FIG. 3 and proceeds to block 322.

At block 732, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determinesdifference values between video signatures at aligned times. In someexamples, the video signature comparator 234 determines differencevalues between video signatures at aligned times.

At block 734, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 selects asample for which the difference value exceeds a difference value. Insome examples, the video signature comparator 234 selects a sample forwhich the difference value exceeds a difference threshold.

At block 736, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether there are samples adjacent for the current sample which exceedthe difference threshold. In some examples, the video signaturecomparator 234 determines whether there are samples adjacent for thecurrent sample which exceed the difference threshold. In response tothere being samples adjacent the current samples which exceed thedifference threshold, processing transfers to block 738. Conversely, inresponse to there not being samples adjacent the current sample whichexceed the difference threshold, processing transfers to block 742.

At block 738, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines ifa quantity of the adjacent samples exceeds an interrupt durationthreshold. In some examples, the video signature comparator 234determines if a quantity of the adjacent samples exceeds an interruptduration threshold. In response to determining a quantity of theadjacent samples exceeds the interrupt duration threshold, processingtransfers to block 740. Conversely, in response to determining aquantity of the adjacent samples does not exceed the interrupt durationthreshold, processing transfers to block 742.

At block 740, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 identifies aninterrupt period beginning at the first of the adjacent samples whichexceeds the difference threshold and ending at the last of the adjacentsamples which exceeds the difference threshold. The example videosignature comparator 234 identifies an interrupt period beginning at thefirst of the adjacent samples which exceeds the difference threshold andending at the last of the adjacent samples which exceeds the differencethreshold.

At block 742, the example affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determineswhether there are additional samples exceeding the difference thresholdto analyze. In response to there being additional samples exceeding thedifference threshold to analyze, processing transfers to block 742.Conversely, in response to there not being additional samples exceedingthe difference threshold to analyze, processing returns to the machinereadable instructions 300 of FIG. 3 and proceeds to block 322.

FIG. 8 is a schematic 800 illustrating an example broadcast programmingscenario and associated data to be utilized in accordance withtechniques disclosed herein to detect affiliate interrupts.

The schematic 800 includes an example time axis 802, where timeincreases from left to right across the schematic 800, as viewed on thepage.

The schematic 800 includes an example affiliate station programmingindication row 804. The affiliate station programming indication row 804illustrates a type of programming that was presented on an affiliatestation at a particular time. At times when the affiliate station isdirectly presenting network media, the station programming indicationrow 804 illustrates “NETWORK MEDIA,” whereas when an affiliate interruptoccurs (e.g., as detected by the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118), theaffiliate station programming indication row 804 illustrates “AFFILIATEINTERRUPT.”

The schematic 800 includes an example first type network code row 806indicating detected network codes of a first type. The schematic 800further includes an example first type of local code row 808 indicatingdetected local codes of the first type. For example, the first type ofnetwork codes and/or local codes may correspond to a specific encodingtechnique. Similarly, the schematic 800 includes an example second typeof network code row 810 indicating detected network codes of a secondtime, and an example second type of local code row 812 indicatingdetected local codes of a second type.

The schematic 800 includes an example affiliate signatures row 814indicating affiliate signatures that are generated based on theaffiliate station programming throughout the affiliate stationprogramming. The schematic 800 further includes an example referencesignatures row 816 indicated signatures that are generated based onreference media (e.g., a direct feed of the national network). A firsttype of shading is utilized for the reference signatures and affiliatesignatures which match the reference signatures, and other shadings areutilized to indicate affiliate signatures which do not matchcorresponding reference signatures.

The schematic 800 includes an example interrupts identified based onwatermarks row 818 which indicates interrupt periods that are identifiedby the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 based on watermarks, and anexample interrupts identified based on signatures row 820 whichindicates interrupt periods that are identified by the affiliateinterrupt analyzer 118 based on audio signatures.

In some examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 utilizes only onetype of codes to detect affiliate interrupts. As an example, thefollowing procedure describes an analysis outcome utilizing only thefirst type of watermark to detect affiliate interrupts. At an examplefirst time 822 in the schematic 800, network and local watermarks of thefirst type are detected. However, after the first time 822, there is atime period extending beyond a bridge time for the first type of networkwatermark during which the first type of network watermark is notdetected. In some examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118determines whether a local code is detected within the bridge time ofthe last detected local code to determine whether an affiliate interruptis occurring (in which case, the local code should still be detected).At an example second time 824, a local code of the first type isdetected. Once the bridge time of the network code has expired withoutdetecting a network code (e.g., shortly after the second time 824), theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 can determine an affiliate interrupt isoccurring, since local codes are present while network codes are not.However, after the second time 824, another local code is not detectedwithin the bridge time of the local code. As a result, when analyzingonly the first type of codes, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 maydetermine that no watermarks are present when an example first interruptperiod 826 occurs.

Continuing analysis utilizing only watermarks of the first type, at anexample third time 828, a network code is detected, but no subsequentnetwork codes are detected within the bridge time of the network code.During this time period (e.g., during the bridge time of the networkcode), local codes are detected. In some such examples utilizing onlythe first type of watermarks, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 maydetermine an affiliate interrupt begins at the third time 828.

Continuing analysis utilizing only watermarks of the first type, at anexample fourth time 830, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 cancorrectly detect an example second interrupt period 832 based on nonetwork codes being detected within a bridge time after the fourth time830, and local codes being detected during this period.

In some examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 utilizes morethan one type of codes to detect affiliate interrupts. As an example,the following procedure utilizes both the first and second types ofwatermarks to detect affiliate interrupts. At the second time 824, theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 detects local codes of the second typeduring the period when neither the first type of network code nor thesecond type of network code are detected during their bridge periods. Asa result, the first interrupt period 826 can be accurately detecteddespite the break in local watermarks of the first type (e.g., due to atechnical encoding glitch).

Continuing analysis utilizing watermarks of both the first and secondtypes, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 can correctly determine thatnetwork media is being presented following the third time 828, since thesecond type of network code is detected when the first type of networkcode is not. Thus, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 can leverageboth types of watermarks to avoid incorrectly identifying an affiliateinterrupt after the third time 828 (e.g., as would occur when onlyutilizing the first type of watermark after the third time 828).

In some examples, when utilizing a plurality of code types to detectaffiliate interrupts, bridge times of the different code types may vary.In such examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 determines andtracks respective bridge times to ensure determinations of affiliateinterrupts are accurate. For example, a bridge time may be very shortfor a high-frequency watermark, but a watermark embedded at a lowfrequency may have a longer bridge time which requires more time toaccurately determine an interrupt has occurred.

In some examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 can additionallyor alternatively detect affiliate interrupts by comparing audiosignatures generated based on an affiliate signal and reference audiosignatures generated based on reference audio (e.g., audio correspondingto a national feed). In the schematic 800, when a shading of one of theaffiliate signatures does not match a shading of one of the referencesignatures, the signatures are identified as non-matching. In someexamples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 detects affiliateinterrupts when a plurality of adjacent (e.g., adjacent in time)signatures satisfying a duration threshold are non-matching. Forexample, if signatures are generated for one second time periods, andthe duration threshold is set at five seconds, the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118 would detect an affiliate interrupt when five seconds ofnon-matching signatures (e.g., five consecutive non-matching signatures)is determined.

Between an example fifth time 834 and an example sixth time 836 in theschematic 800, the affiliate signatures and the reference signatures donot match. In some examples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118determines whether the time period between the fifth time 834 and thesixth time 836 satisfies a duration threshold. In response to the timeperiod between the fifth time 834 and the sixth time 836 satisfying theduration threshold, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 detects anaffiliate interrupt.

Between an example seventh time 838 and an example eighth time 840 inthe schematic 800, an affiliate signature and a reference signature donot match. In some examples, this one non-matching affiliate signaturebetween the seventh time 838 and the eighth time 840 is not enough tosatisfy the duration threshold, and therefore the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118 does not identify an interrupt period.

Between an example ninth time 842 and an example tenth time 844 in theschematic 800, a plurality of affiliate signatures and referencesignatures do not match. In some examples, the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118 detects an affiliate interrupt period between the ninthtime 842 and the tenth time 844 in response to the time period and/ornumber of signatures between the ninth time 842 and the tenth time 844satisfying a duration threshold.

The interrupts identified based on watermarks row 818 and the interruptidentified based on signatures row 820 illustrate the potentialdifferences between affiliate interrupts detected utilizing the twomethods (watermarks and audio signatures). In some examples, theinterrupt periods (e.g., start times and end times) of detectedaffiliate interrupts are refined utilizing a secondary method. Forexample, if an affiliate interrupt is detected based on audiowatermarks, the start and end times associated with the affiliateinterrupt can be subsequently refined by performing audio signaturecomparison and/or video signature comparison. Any combination of one ormore of the affiliate interrupt detection techniques disclosed hereinmay be utilized to improve the accuracy and reliability of affiliateinterrupt data.

FIG. 9 is an example schematic 900 of comparison of a set of affiliatebroadcasts for identification of affiliate interrupts. The exampleschematic 900 includes an example time axis 902 for comparison of eleven(11) example affiliate broadcasts signals listed along an examplebroadcast axis 904 over time. The broadcast signals are labeled asbroadcast 1 through broadcast 11. The example broadcasts listed alongthe example broadcast axis are affiliate broadcasts, which displaysimilar media at some times, and different media at other times.

The example schematic 900 includes several identified non-matchingintervals, as identified in accordance with the teachings of thisdisclosure (e.g., as described in the machine readable instructions 600of FIG. 6 , etc.). In performing media comparison across the broadcastsignals for the time span shown in the example schematic 900, an examplefirst non-matching interval 906, an example second non-matching interval908, an example third non-matching interval 910, an example fourthnon-matching interval 912, an example fifth non-matching interval 914,an example sixth non-matching interval 916, and an example seventhnon-matching interval 918 are identified. To determine affiliateinterrupts, the techniques disclosed herein (e.g., as described in themachine readable instructions 600 of FIG. 6 ) determine if thenon-matching intervals satisfy at least a difference quantity thresholdand one or more duration thresholds.

The example first non-matching interval 906 includes broadcast 6conveying different media than the remainder of the broadcasts. Duringthe first non-matching interval 906, only one out of eleven broadcastsignals includes different media. Hence, in some examples, it may beconsidered likely that this affiliate experienced an outage, asinterrupts may be typically identified among multiple affiliates of theplurality of affiliate broadcasters.

The example second non-matching interval 908 includes broadcast 3conveying different media than the remainder of the broadcasts. In someexamples, the duration threshold may not be satisfied due to the secondnon-matching interval 908 having a relatively short duration (e.g.,possibly indicative of a glitch in the broadcast, a brief interruptionin the broadcast, etc.)

The example third non-matching interval 910 includes broadcasts 1through 3, broadcast 5 and broadcasts 7 through 10 conveying uniquemedia, and broadcasts 4, 6 and 11 conveying similar media. In someexamples, the third non-matching interval 910 may satisfy the differencequantity threshold, and/or may satisfy the duration threshold. Forexample, the third non-matching interval 910 has ten unique mediapresentations conveyed during the third non-matching interval 910, whichmay be an indication that an affiliate interrupt took place during thisinterval. In some examples, the third non-matching interval 910 maysatisfy the duration threshold, as the duration of the thirdnon-matching interval 910 may be within a range of acceptable durationsfor an affiliate interrupt, and the unique media presentationsadditionally have similar presentation durations.

The example fourth non-matching interval 912 and the example fifthnon-matching interval 914 include broadcast 9 conveying different mediathan the remainder of the broadcasts. The example fourth non-matchinginterval 912 and the example fifth non-matching interval 914 may eachnot satisfy the difference quantity threshold, and/or may each notsatisfy the duration threshold.

The example sixth non-matching interval 916, similar to the thirdnon-matching interval 910, includes many stations conveying uniquemedia. Broadcasts 1 through 7 and broadcast 9 conveyed unique mediaduring this interval, while broadcasts 8, 10 and 11 include similarmedia. Similar to the third non-matching interval 910, the sixthnon-matching interval 916 may satisfy an example difference quantitythreshold due to the numerous different media presentations and/or maysatisfy an example duration threshold.

The example seventh non-matching interval 918 includes broadcast 4conveying unique media relative to the remainder of the broadcasts. Insome examples, broadcast 4 may have begun conveying differentprogramming (e.g., local news, an infomercial, a new national broadcast,etc.) beginning at the sixth non-matching interval 916. In some exampleswherein non-matching intervals are required to have similarcharacteristics (e.g., similar difference quantity characteristics,etc.) to be eligible for combination, the example sixth non-matchinginterval 916 and the example seventh non-matching interval 918 may notbe combined. In some examples, the sixth non-matching interval 916 andthe seventh non-matching interval 918 may initially be combined andsubsequently may be re-divided due to the disparity in differencesbetween media conveyed between the sixth non-matching interval 916 andthe seventh non-matching interval 918. In such examples, the seventhnon-matching interval 918 may not satisfy the difference quantitythreshold due to there only being two unique media presentations acrossthe broadcast signals (one for broadcast 4, and the other for allremaining broadcasts).

The example schematic 900 includes various time offsets associated withmedia presentations throughout the broadcast signals. For example, theexample time offset 920 indicates that broadcast 9 is slightly delayedrelative to broadcast 5, for example. Such offsets may be anticipated bydata received from other systems indicative of slight broadcast delays,and can be subsequently accounted for when determining non-matchingintervals and identifying affiliate interrupts.

FIG. 10A is a schematic 1000 illustrating an example video signaturecomparison between a plurality of media signals to be utilized to detectaffiliate interrupts using techniques disclosed herein. The schematicincludes a plot including an example time in affiliate signal axis 1002and an example time in reference signal axis 1004. The plot illustratesdifference values between video signatures corresponding to theaffiliate signal and video signatures corresponding to the referencesignal. Difference values are illustrated based on shading, with darkershaded areas representing larger differences between the video signalsthan lighter shaded areas.

The schematic 1000 includes an example legend 1006 indicating thedifference between video signatures represented by varying levels ofshading. The legend 1006 may be in any units (e.g., a percentdifference, a number of pixels in corresponding locations that vary morethan a threshold, etc.).

The schematic 1000 includes an example first similar region 1008 a andan example second similar region 1008 b. Within the first and secondsimilar regions 1008 a, 1008 b, the difference quantity between videosignatures is relatively small. The first similar region 1008 a is atapproximately fifty units of time in the affiliate signal and fiftyunits of time in the reference signal, while the second similar region1008 b is at approximately sixty units of time in the affiliate signaland sixty units of time in the reference signal, indicating that thesignals generally correspond in time. When the signals generallycorrespond in time and correspond to presentation of the same media,points on the plot where the time values match should have lowdifference values. Thus, when a point where the time values match has aparticularly high difference value, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118can detect a potential affiliate interrupt.

However, due to deviations in video encoding and/or other technicalfactors (e.g., differences in frame rate, signal interrupts, etc.), theaffiliate signal and the reference signal may not perfectly correspondin time. For example, if the affiliate signal is encoded at a slightlyfaster speed than the reference signal, the alignment of the signalswill diverge over time. In some examples, when query video signaturesare offset from the reference video signatures, if the signatures arenot properly re-aligned, there may be large difference values when thereis a fast motion in the media represented in the signals, resulting invery different video frames over short time periods. In such exampleswhere one or more factors cause corresponding times to no longercorrespond to the same portion of media (e.g., sixty seconds in theaffiliate signal corresponds to the same media as sixty-one seconds inthe reference signal, indicating a one-second offset), the affiliateinterrupt analyzer 118 (e.g., via the alignment analyzer 232) canperform an alignment technique to align the times of the two signalssuch that video signatures at corresponding times in the media can becompared. For example, if the affiliate signal is one-second ahead ofthe reference signal, the video signatures of the affiliate signal canbe moved back in time by one second to enabling comparison. The plotillustrated in the schematic 1000 enables a visual indication of whethervideo signatures of the affiliate signal are properly aligned with videosignatures of the reference signal. When the video signatures from eachsignal are aligned, an example alignment line 1010 extending through theplot is visible.

Once the alignment line 1010 has been identified in the plot, differencequantities along the alignment line can be calculated and analyzed toidentify potential affiliate interrupts. The legend 1006 of theschematic 1000 includes an example difference threshold 1012, indicatingan acceptable amount of difference between two video signatures for thesignatures to be considered a match. For example, in the illustratedexample of FIG. 10A, the difference threshold 1012 is approximately 160.Thus, if a video signature comparison along the alignment line 1010results in a difference value exceeding 160, the affiliate interruptanalyzer 118 may determine the video signatures do not match. Thedifference threshold 1012 may be set to any value, and can be tunedaccording to particular parameters of video to be analyzed. In someexamples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 additionally determineswhether a duration of video signatures that does not satisfy thedifference threshold (e.g., that exceed the difference threshold)satisfies a duration threshold. For example, if only two-seconds ofvideo signatures do not match, this may not be a sufficient duration todetermine an affiliate interrupt occurred (e.g., it may have been atechnical error in the affiliate video signal, error in the matchingalgorithm based on characteristics of the video signatures, error in thealignment of video signatures, etc.).

Use of video signatures for affiliate interrupt detection can enableidentification of differences that audio signature comparison and/oraudio watermark analysis may not detect. For example, if an affiliatebroadcaster adjusts colors, image quality, and/or any other visualfeature, these changes can be detected during video signaturecomparison. In some examples, video signature comparison can be utilizedsubsequent to audio signature and/or audio watermark analysis toprecisely determine start and end times of affiliate interrupts.

FIG. 10B is a difference quantity plot 1014 corresponding to the videosignature comparison illustrated in the schematic of FIG. 10A. Thedifference quantity plot 1014 includes the time in affiliate signal axis1002 and an example difference quantity axis 1016. The differencequantity axis 1016 of the illustrated example measures difference valuesbetween video signatures generated based on the affiliate signal andvideo signatures generated based on the reference signal. In theillustrated example, example difference data 1018 corresponding to videosignature comparisons along the alignment line 1010 of FIG. 10A isplotted. The difference threshold 1012 is illustrated in the differencequantity plot 1014. In the illustrated example of FIG. 10B, thedifference quantity for the affiliate signal exceeds the differencethresholds twice, once between approximately twenty-eight and thirty-twoseconds and again between fifty-eight and sixty seconds. In someexamples, the affiliate interrupt analyzer 118 may determine that thesetwo periods correspond to an affiliate interrupt. In some examples, theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 may determine that the durations ofthese two periods is too short to correspond to an affiliate interrupt(e.g., based on the durations not satisfying an interrupt durationthreshold).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1100structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 3-7B to implement theaffiliate interrupt analyzer 118 of FIG. 2 . The processor platform 1100can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, aself-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., acell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CDplayer, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, apersonal video recorder, a set top box, a headset or other wearabledevice, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1112. The processor 1112 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1112 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs,or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardwareprocessor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. Inthis example, the processor implements the example affiliate signalreceiver 206, the example reference signal receiver 208, the examplewatermark detector 218, the example audio signature generator 220, theexample video signature generator 222, the example interrupt identifier224, the example watermark analyzer 226, the example audio signatureanalyzer 228, the example video signature analyzer 230, the examplealignment analyzer 232, the example video signature comparator 234, andthe example interrupt report generator 236.

The processor 1112 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1113 (e.g., a cache). The processor 1112 of the illustrated example isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1114 anda non-volatile memory 1116 via a bus 1118. The volatile memory 1114 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random AccessMemory (RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device.The non-volatile memory 1116 may be implemented by flash memory and/orany other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1114,1116 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1120. The interface circuit 1120 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1122 are connectedto the interface circuit 1120. The input device(s) 1122 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 1112. The inputdevice(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, amicrophone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, atouchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voicerecognition system.

One or more output devices 1124 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1120 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1124 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printerand/or speaker. The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chipand/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g.,computing devices of any kind) via a network 1126. The communication canbe via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, asatellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephonesystem, etc.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1128 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1128 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundantarray of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk(DVD) drives.

The machine executable instructions 1132 of FIGS. 3-7B may be stored inthe mass storage device 1128, in the volatile memory 1114, in thenon-volatile memory 1116, and/or on a removable non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that enableaccurate detection and analysis of affiliate interrupts on affiliatemedia signals. Some example methods, apparatus and articles ofmanufacture disclosed herein enable usage of one or more types ofwatermarks to be utilized to determine affiliate interrupts on anaffiliate media signal. Some example methods, apparatus and articles ofmanufacture disclosed herein additionally or alternatively utilize audiosignature comparison between a reference media signal and an affiliatesignal and/or between a plurality of affiliate signals to determineaffiliate interrupts with precise start and end times. Some examplemethods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture disclosed hereinadditionally or alternatively enable affiliate interrupt detection basedon video signatures, providing enhanced ability to determine differencesin an affiliate video signal that may not be as readily detected or evenpresent in the corresponding audio signal. The disclosed methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture improve the efficiency of using acomputing device by utilizing one or more of watermark detection, audiosignature comparison, or video signature comparison to quickly andaccurately detect affiliate interrupts on a media signal. The disclosedmethods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are accordingly directedto one or more improvement(s) in the functioning of a computer.

An example apparatus disclosed herein includes a watermark analyzer todetermine whether a first time period of a first audio signalcorresponds to a first affiliate interrupt period when watermarks aredetected in the first time period of the first audio signal, thewatermark analyzer to determine the first time period corresponds to thefirst affiliate interrupt period based on whether (1) a first type ofwatermark is detected in the first time period of the first audiosignal, and (2) a second type of watermark is detected in the firstaudio signal outside the first time period but not in the first timeperiod of the first audio signal, and an audio signature analyzer todetermine whether the first time period of the first audio signalcorresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period when watermarks arenot detected in the first time period of the first audio signal, theaudio signature analyzer to determine the first time period correspondsto the first affiliate interrupt period based on comparison of firstsignatures representing the first time period of the first audio signalwith second signatures representing a corresponding first time period ofa reference audio signal.

In some examples, the first type of watermark is a final distributorwatermark encoded in the first audio signal by an affiliate broadcasterafter receipt of the first audio signal from a national broadcaster, andthe second type of watermark is a network watermark embedded by thenational broadcaster network prior to distribution of the first audiosignal to the affiliate broadcaster.

In some examples, the reference audio signal is associated with mediadistributed from a network broadcaster, and the first audio signal isassociated with media broadcast from an affiliate of the networkbroadcaster.

In some examples, the audio signature analyzer is to determine the firsttime period of the first audio signal corresponds to the first affiliateinterrupt period when the first signatures representing the first timeperiod of the first audio signal do not match the second signaturesrepresenting a corresponding first time period of a reference audiosignal.

In some examples, the apparatus further includes an audio signaturegenerator to process the first audio signal to generate the firstsignatures representing the first time period of the first audio signal.

In some examples, the watermark analyzer is to determine whether thefirst time period corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt periodbased on whether (1) the first type of watermark or a third type ofwatermark is detected in the first time period and (2) the second typeof watermark or a fourth type of watermark is detected in the firstaudio signal outside the first time period but not in the first timeperiod, wherein the first type of watermark and the third type ofwatermark correspond to final distributor watermarks and the second typeof watermark and the fourth type of watermark correspond to networkwatermarks.

In some examples, the apparatus further includes a video signatureanalyzer to determine whether the first time period of the first audiosignal corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based oncomparison of (i) first video signatures generated from a first videosignal associated with the first audio signal and (ii) second videosignatures representative of a corresponding reference video signalassociated with the reference audio signal, the video signature analyzerincluding a video signature generator to generate the first videosignatures from the first video signal.

An example non-transitory computer readable storage medium disclosedherein comprises computer readable instructions that, when executed,cause a processor to determine whether a first time period of a firstaudio signal corresponds to a first affiliate interrupt period whenwatermarks are detected in the first time period of the first audiosignal, the determining whether the first time period corresponds to thefirst affiliate interrupt period based on whether (1) a first type ofwatermark is detected in the first time period of the first audiosignal, and (2) a second type of watermark is detected in the firstaudio signal outside the first time period but not in the first timeperiod of the first audio signal, and determine whether the first timeperiod of the first audio signal corresponds to the first affiliateinterrupt period when watermarks are not detected in the first timeperiod of the first audio signal, the determining whether the first timeperiod corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based oncomparison of first signatures representing the first time period of thefirst audio signal with second signatures representing a correspondingfirst time period of a reference audio signal.

In some examples, the first type of watermark is a final distributorwatermark encoded in the first audio signal by an affiliate broadcasterafter receipt of the first audio signal from a national broadcaster, andthe second type of watermark is a network watermark embedded by anetwork prior to distribution of the first audio signal to the affiliatebroadcaster.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the processorto determine the first time period of the first audio signal correspondsto the first affiliate interrupt period when the first signaturesrepresenting the first time period of the first audio signal do notmatch the second signatures representing a corresponding first timeperiod of a reference audio signal.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the processorto generate the first signatures representing the first time period ofthe first audio signal.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the processorto determine whether the first time period corresponds to the firstaffiliate interrupt period based on whether (1) the first type ofwatermark or a third type of watermark is detected in the first timeperiod and (2) the second type of watermark or a fourth type ofwatermark is detected in the first audio signal outside the first timeperiod but not in the first time period, wherein the first type ofwatermark and the third type of watermark correspond to finaldistributor watermarks and the second type of watermark and the fourthtype of watermark correspond to network watermarks.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the processorto determine whether the first time period of the first audio signalcorresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based on comparisonof (i) first video signatures generated from a first video signalassociated with the first audio signal and (ii) second video signaturesrepresentative of a corresponding reference video signal associated withthe reference audio signal, the instructions, when executed, to causethe processor to generate the first video signatures from the firstvideo signal.

An example method disclosed herein includes determining whether a firsttime period of a first audio signal corresponds to a first affiliateinterrupt period when watermarks are detected in the first time periodof the first audio signal, the determining the first time periodcorresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based on whether (1)a first type of watermark is detected in the first time period of thefirst audio signal, and (2) a second type of watermark is detected inthe first audio signal outside the first time period but not in thefirst time period of the first audio signal, and determining whether thefirst time period of the first audio signal corresponds to the firstaffiliate interrupt period when watermarks are not detected in the firsttime period of the first audio signal, the determining whether the firsttime period corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based oncomparison of first signatures representing the first time period of thefirst audio signal with second signatures representing a correspondingfirst time period of a reference audio signal.

In some examples, the first type of watermark is a final distributorwatermark encoded in the first audio signal by an affiliate broadcasterafter receipt of the first audio signal from a national broadcaster, andthe second type of watermark is a network watermark embedded by anetwork prior to distribution of the first audio signal to the affiliatebroadcaster.

In some examples, the reference audio signal is associated with mediadistributed from a network broadcaster, and the first audio signal isassociated with media broadcast from an affiliate of the networkbroadcaster.

In some examples, the method includes determining the first time periodof the first audio signal corresponds to the first affiliate interruptperiod when the first signatures representing the first time period ofthe first audio signal do not match the second signatures representing acorresponding first time period of a reference audio signal.

In some examples, the method includes generating the first signaturesrepresenting the first time period of the first audio signal.

In some examples, the method includes determining whether the first timeperiod corresponds to the first affiliate interrupt period based onwhether (1) the first type of watermark or a third type of watermark isdetected in the first time period and (2) the second type of watermarkor a fourth type of watermark is detected in the first audio signaloutside the first time period but not in the first time period, whereinthe first type of watermark and the third type of watermark correspondto final distributor watermarks and the second type of watermark and thefourth type of watermark correspond to network watermarks.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory;instructions; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to atleast: compare a first signature of a first affiliate signal and asecond signature of a second affiliate signal to determine whether firstmedia conveyed by the first affiliate signal and second media conveyedby the second affiliate signal match during a time segment; anddetermine whether the time segment corresponds to an affiliate interruptbased on a first threshold and a second threshold, the first thresholdassociated with an amount of difference between the first signature andthe second signature, the second threshold associated with a duration ofthe time segment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processorcircuitry is to compare the first signature and the second signaturebased on (a) the first affiliate signal corresponding to a networkbroadcaster and (b) the second affiliate signal corresponding to thenetwork broadcaster.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstsignature and the second signature correspond to the time segment. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the amount of difference between thefirst signature and the second signature corresponds to a percentagedifference between the first signature and the second signature that isindicative of the affiliate interrupt.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3,wherein the determination is a first determination, and the processorcircuitry is to identify the time segment as the affiliate interrupt inresponse to a second determination that (i) the amount of differencebetween the first signature and the second signature satisfies the firstthreshold, and (ii) the duration of the time segment satisfies thesecond threshold.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the time segmentis a first time segment, and the processor circuitry is to: aggregatethe first time segment and a second time segment adjacent to the firsttime segment into a third time segment; and determine whether the thirdtime segment corresponds to the affiliate interrupt based on whether thefirst threshold and the second threshold.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the affiliate interrupt represents a time period during which alocal station may insert media different than that which is provided bya network broadcaster.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessor circuitry is to determine whether the time segment correspondsto the affiliate interrupt in response to a determination that the firstmedia and the second media do not match.
 9. At least one non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed,cause processor circuitry to at least: compare a first signature of afirst affiliate signal and a second signature of a second affiliatesignal to determine whether first media conveyed by the first affiliatesignal and second media conveyed by the second affiliate signal matchduring a time segment; and determine whether the time segmentcorresponds to an affiliate interrupt based on a first threshold and asecond threshold, the first threshold associated with an amount ofdifference between the first signature and the second signature, thesecond threshold associated with a duration of the time segment.
 10. Theat least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, whereinthe instructions cause the processor circuitry to compare the firstsignature and the second signature based on (a) the first affiliatesignal corresponding to a network broadcaster and (b) the secondaffiliate signal corresponding to the network broadcaster.
 11. The atleast one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, whereinthe first signature and the second signature correspond to the timesegment.
 12. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein the amount of difference between the first signatureand the second signature corresponds to a percentage difference betweenthe first signature and the second signature that is indicative of theaffiliate interrupt.
 13. The at least one non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 11, wherein the determination is a firstdetermination, and the instructions cause the processor circuitry toidentify the time segment as the affiliate interrupt in response to asecond determination that (i) the amount of difference between the firstsignature and the second signature satisfies the first threshold, and(ii) the duration of the time segment satisfies the second threshold.14. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9,wherein the time segment is a first time segment, and the instructionscause the processor circuitry: aggregate the first time segment and asecond time segment adjacent to the first time segment into a third timesegment; and determine whether the third time segment corresponds to theaffiliate interrupt based on whether the first threshold and the secondthreshold.
 15. The at least one non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 9, wherein the affiliate interrupt represents a time periodduring which a local station may insert media different than that whichis provided by a network broadcaster.
 16. The at least onenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein theinstructions cause the processor circuitry to determine whether the timesegment corresponds to the affiliate interrupt in response to adetermination that the first media and the second media do not match.17. A method comprising: comparing, by executing an instruction with atleast one processor, a first signature of a first affiliate signal and asecond signature of a second affiliate signal to determine whether firstmedia conveyed by the first affiliate signal and second media conveyedby the second affiliate signal match during a time segment; anddetermining, by executing an instruction with the at least oneprocessor, whether the time segment corresponds to an affiliateinterrupt based on a first threshold and a second threshold, the firstthreshold associated with an amount of difference between the firstsignature and the second signature, the second threshold associated witha duration of the time segment.
 18. The method of claim 17, furtherincluding comparing the first signature and the second signature basedon (a) the first affiliate signal corresponding to a network broadcasterand (b) the second affiliate signal corresponding to the networkbroadcaster.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first signature andthe second signature correspond to the time segment.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the amount of difference between the first signatureand the second signature corresponds to a percentage difference betweenthe first signature and the second signature that is indicative of theaffiliate interrupt.